Reducing-valve.



R. W. E. HAYES. y

REDUCING vALv'E.

` APPLCATION FILED SEPT. 24, 1915 Patented Sept. l5, 1916.

TinTTnn sTaTns PATE FFIQE,

RALPH W. E. HAYES, OF GALVA, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF T HAYES PUMP & PLAN'IER COMPANY, OF GALVA, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

REDUCINGr-VALVE.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 5, 1916.

Application filed September 24, 1915. SeralNo. 52,380.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that I, RALPH W. E. HAYES,

Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Reducing-Valves, of which the following is a specification.

This valve is intended primarily, though not exclusively, for use in connection with power spraying apparatus in which it is desirable to operate the engine and pump mechanism to a pressure capacity slightly in excess of that desired for spraying purposes, in order that an excess margin of power may be available at all times, so that the pressure of the spraying apparatus will always remain substantially constant, and never fall below the desired degree. 1

The object of the present invention is to construct a relief valve so that pressure on the valve may be quickly andeasily adjusted, and so that the valve maybe thrownl entirely open when the apparatus is not in use, and the engine is running.

The invention relates to the means provided for regulating the pressure on the valve, to the valve-piston construction, and to the means provided for throwing the valves out of commission.

Other objects will appear from a detailed description of the invention which consists l in the Jfeatures of construction and combinathe valve, showing the piston closed; and

Fig. 2 is an elevation,showing the parts disassembled for cleaning, packing, or otherwise. v

The valve consists essentially of a valve casing 3 having a cylindrical bore 4 which, at its lower end, is provided with interior threads 5 to receive a supply pipe 6, through which the spraying solution is admitted to the relief valve. The casing, at its upper end, terminates in asmooth cylindrical eX- tension 7, and, at its side, the casing is provided with a threaded nipple8 which receives a discharge pipe 9 leading back to the tank, not shown, for conserving so much of the solution as may pass the relief valve. The wall of the casing, adjacent the nipple 8, is cut away to furnish a vertically elongated discharge port 10 which communicates with the discharge pipe 9. The cylindrical extension 7 serves as a mounting for a slidable tubular fitting 11 which terminates, at its upper end, in a neck 12 of reduced diameter on its interior and exterior. The neck 12 serves to mount a coil spring 13 which is put under tension by expansion, and which projects a distance above the neck. The coil spring, at its upper end, connects with a plunger rod 14 Vwhich is entered through the neck 12, and carries, at its lower end, a g

piston 15. In order to regulate the tension of the spring, the neck is provided with a pair of lugs 16 which project outwardly and are adapted to interlie adjacent coils o-f the spring, so that, by turning the spring, its coils will act as threads to increase or diminish the tension onl the plunger 14. The latter is provided with a stop pin 17 which, when the valve is closed, -bears against a washer 18` abutting against the neck 12, and serves to limit the inward thrust of the plunger rod.

'Ihe piston consists of vupper and lower leathers 19 and 20, yand an intermediate metallic spacing collar 21 of slightly less diameter than the leathers, and pressure on the latter may be regulated by means of a screw-nut 22 which bears against the washer 23 in contact with the lower leather.

The foregoing features comprise the active parts of the relief valve proper, but, in order to provide for manually lifting the piston to open the passageway between the supply and discharge pipes, the following mechanism is employed: Abifurcated finger lever 24 of angular formation is provided which has its free ends 25 pivoted to the opposite sides ofthe valve casing near the lower end thereof, and the finger lever terminates in agrip or handle 26 which normally projects outwardly from the valve at substantially right angles thereto, and is down-curved at its lower end. At the angles or elbows 27 on opposite sides of the finger lever are pivoted the lower ends of a pair of draw bars 28, the upper ends'of which are pivoted to .undercut studs 29 extending outwardly from the tubularfitting 11. The upper ends 30 of the draw bars are outwardly turned to facilitate the slipping of the draw bars over the studs, and the draw bars themselves have suiiicient spring action to permit them to be sprung in place on the studs, and thereafter to maintain their operating position without danger of accidental displacement. .The parts are arranged, however, so that the draw bars can be easily sprung away from the studs to facilitate the withdrawal of the piston and associated partys, as shown in Fig. 2.

With the finger lever in the position shown in Fig. l, the tubular fitting with its piston and spring will be drawn down and held in proper position to bring the side of the piston into register with the port 10, so that the piston, under normal conditions of pressure, will close the port against the discharge of spraying solution, which, however, when subjected to excessive pressure, will tend to elevate the piston against the tension of the spring ,and find its escape around the piston and through the discharge port. When, however, the finger lever is swung up, it will lift the draw. bars 28, thereby imparting a thrust to the studs 29, and acting to lift the tubular fitting with the piston and spring. The arrangement is one which enables the operator to instantly throw the relief valve out of commission, and thereby reduce the load on the engine when the sprayer is not in use. At the same time, the piston, when in lifted position, will prevent the blowing out or the discharge of any of the solution through the top of the valve casing, but will permit the circulation of the solution through the discharge pipe 9 and back to the tank. By simply throwing down the finger lever to its lowermost position, the piston will be moved to operating position without the necessity for readjusting'the tension of the spring, or otherwise-manipulating the valve.

In order to insure the proper positioning of the' parts, a pair of stop lugs 31 are provided on the side of the valve casing which serve to limit the backward movement of the'draw bars 31 when the finger levers are thrown down.

The construction of the piston is one which has been found extremely satisfactory'for the service imposed upon the valve, in thattherelatively soft consistency of the leather prevents the cutting out of the packing by the outward passage of the escaping particles of solution when subjected to excessive pressure from'the pump.

In relief valves of the usual type, it has been customary to provide pistons with metal packing, but experience has shown that the escaping particles of solution, which tend to push their way along the face of the packing, serve to erode or wear away the metal, or to cut fine transverse grooves in its surface which quickly impairs the efficiency of the piston. For this particular service, the leather packing is well fitted for the reason that, if its surface be grooved or scored by the passage of small particlesl contained in the solution, it will instantly fill out or expand to prevent an excessive escape of solution. By providing upper and lower packing leathers, the lower leather of the piston serves to pack the valve against the excessive escape of solution through the port 10, while the upper leather serves to pack the valve against the escape of solution through the top of the valve, while the metallic spacing ring, being of slightly reduced diameter, provides for the application of a desired degree of pressure against the upper and lower surfaces of the leathers.

For the particular work intended, the valve, as a whole, is extremely simple in construction and in manipulation, and is more eiiicient in service than valves of the type ordinarily employed for a similar purpose.

I claim:

l. In a relief valve, the combination of a casing provided with an intake port and a discharge port, a piston slidable in the valve casing to regulate the flow of liquid therethrough, a plunger rodl upwardly extending from the piston, a fitting which carries the plunger rod and is slidably mounted upon the valve casing, a spring carried by the fitting and adapted to exert pressure on the plunger rod to hold the piston in position to close the-valve, and lever means for sliding the fitting with respect to the valve casing to unseat the piston and open the valve, substantially as described.'

2. In a relief valve, the combination of a casing provided with an intake port and a discharge port, a piston slidable inthe valve casing to regulate the fiow ofliquid therethrough, a plunger rod upwardly extending from the piston, a fitting which carries the plunger rod andv is slidably mounted upon the valve casing, a. spring carried by thefitting and adapted to-exert pressure on the plunger rod to hold the piston in position to close' the valve, a lever pivoted to the valve casing, and a connection'between said lever and said fitting for moving the latter with the parts therewith associated to lift the piston and open the valve, substantially as described.

8. In a relief. valve,.the combination of a casing provided with an intake port and a discharge port, a piston slidable in the valve casing to regulate the flow 0f liquid therethrough, a plunger rod upwardly extending fromv the piston, a fitting which carries vthe plunger rod and is slidably mounted the fitting and adapted to exert pressure on the plunger rod to hold the piston in position to close the valve, a bifurcated lever embracing the valve pivoted on each side thereof to the valve casing, and draw bars on each side of the casing, each pivoted at one end to the lever, and at the other end to the fitting to move the fitting, and with it to open the valves, substantially as described.

5. In a relief valve, the combination of a casing provided with an intake port and a discharge port, a piston slidable in the valve casing to regulate the ow of liquid therethrough, a plunger rod upwardly extending from the piston, a fitting which carries the plunger rod and is slidab-ly mounted upon the valve casing, a spring carried by the fitting and .adapted to exert pressure on the plunger rod to hold the piston in position to close the valve, a bifurcated lever embracing the valve pivoted on each side thereof to the valve casing, and a draw bar on each side of the casing, each draw bar being pivoted at one end to the lever and removably pivoted at its other end to the tting in a manner to permit easy disassembling of the parts, the levers and draw bars serving to move the fitting and .associated parts to position to o'pen the valves, substantially as described.

6. In a relief valve, the combination of a valve casing provided with an intake portA Copies of this patent may be obtainedlforve cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner Washington, D. 0." l

and a discharge port in `angular relation to one another, and provided beyond the discharge port with a tubular extension, a tubular fitting slidably mounted upon the tubular extension, and terminating in an outwardly extending neck, a plunger rod slidably mounted within the neck and provided at its lower end with a piston normally overlying the discharge port, a spring encircling the plunger. rod and adapted to exert pressure thereon, a bifurcated nger lever of angular formation embracing the valve casing, and having its ends pivoted onv opposite sides thereof, a draw bar on each side of the valve casing pivoted at its lower end to the linger lever, an outwardly projecting stud on each side of the itting adapted for removable connection with the corresponding draw bar, the relation of the parts being such that, when the finger lever is drawn back, the piston will be held in position to close the discharge port, and when the lever is thrown forward, the litting with the plunger rod and piston spring will be moved to position to open the valve, substantially as described. l

7 In a relief valve, the combination of a casing provided with an intake port and a discharge port, a piston slidable in the valve casing to regulate the flow of liquid therethrough, a plunger rod upwardly extending from the piston, a fitting which carries the plunger rod and is slidably mounted upon the valve casing, a spring carried by the fitting and .adapted to exert pressure on the .plunger rod to hold the piston in position to close the valve, and means for sliding the fitting with respect to the valve casing to unseat the piston and open the valve, substantially as described.

RALPH W. E. HAYES. Witnesses:

CLINTON SHURLEY,

C. K. WooDIN.

of retenu,- 

